Toy robots

ABSTRACT

Improvements of toy robots characterized in that the torso of a robot is swung left and right alternatively with suitable time intervals and angles maintained and, at the same time, both arms are moved up and down at a suitable angle of inclination with respect to each other.

United States Patent Suda 15 3,659,379 14 1 May 2,1972

[ TOY ROBOTS [72] Inventor: Kataro Suda, No. 41-1, 4-chome l-ligashi- [22] Filed:

Mukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan Mar. 30, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 23,923

[52] U.S. Cl ..46/247, 46/105, 46/120, 46/150 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63h 33/26 [58] Field of Search ..46/1 19, 120, 244 D, 247, 245, 46/103,104,l05,1l0,122,149, 222,134,150

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,766,849 Rudiger ..46/1 19 3,050,900 Glass et al ..46/l05 3,103,762 Glass et a1 ..46/247 3,124,900 Cook ..46/l05 3,128,575 4/1964 Stanetzki ..46/12O 3,130,518 4/1964 Glass et al ....46/l20 3,199,249 8/1965 Carver et a1. ...46/1 19 3,243,916 4/1966 Ryan ...46/247 3,512,300 5/1970 Thoresen ..46/247 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 590,831 4/1959 Italy ..46/ 1 20 Primary Examiner-Antonio F. Guida Assistant Examiner-A. Heinz Attorney-Steinberg & Blake [57] ABSTRACT Improvements of toy robots characterized in that the torso of a robot is swung left and right alternatively with suitable time intervals and angles maintained and, at the same time, both arms are moved up and down at a suitable angle of inclination with respect to each other.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEOMAY 2l972 3,659,379

' -8HEEI10F3 INVENTOR (4/4/90 50% AT ORNEYS .PATENTEUHAY 2:912 3,659,379

' SHEET 20F 3 INVENTOR KATA/P0 SUDA TOY ROBOTS This invention relates to improvements of toy robots and similar walking dolls. A main object of the invention is to impart special functions or motions to the torso and both arms of toy robots so that the dolls acquire added fascination for infants.

In the accompanying drawings all showing a toy robot embodying this invention:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the robot with a breast lid closed and both hands hung down;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the robot raising both hands, with the breast lid swung'open and with thrusting gun barrels;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the robot in the posture shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view, partly in vertical section, of FIG.

FIG. 6 is transverse sectional view explanatory of the swingable torso turning left;

FIG. 7 is a similar transverse sectional view explanatory of the swingable torso turning right;

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of the movement according to this invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view, partly in vertical section, showing the arm mechanism; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of the movement shown in FIG. 8.

Toy robots on the market are usually designed and built to swing their hands up and down and walk, with or without additional mechanical features whereby they can open their chests to thrust out a gun barrel or barrels while, at the same time, emitting light and sound. During these motions the robots torsos remain still. Accordingly, the gun muzzles are pointed to one direction only. Moreover, the upward and downward swinging movements of the hands are parallel and very unnatural. Because of these factors combined together, conventionally built robots soon pall on children instead of stimulating their interest.

In view of the foregoing, improvements are made in accordance with the present invention to secure the interest of children for extended periods of time. To be more specific, the invention is characterized in that the .torso of a robot is swung left and right alternatively with suitable time intervals and angles maintained and, at the same time, both arms are moved up and down at a suitable angle of inclination with respect to each other.

Thus, a shooter toy robot which incorporates the features of the present invention makes motions in the following order.

When switched on, the robot with both hands hanging down and with the breast lid closed walks several steps by putting its legs alternatively forward. It stops, opens the breast lid, raises its hands back, and swings the upper half of the body left and right several times while the guns emit sound and light. Finally it closes the lid, and then advances several steps forward to repeat the series of motions above described. Such a combination of complicate and sophisticated motions appeals to the fancy to children and enables the toy to gain the childish afiection. 7

The present invention will be more fully described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing an embodiment thereof. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 indicates a swingable torso having a breast lid 3 on the front which is hinged at the lower edge 2 and a lid 5 on the back for a space to accommodate a dry cell or cells 4. A head 6 is fixed to the top of the torso. The swingable torso 1 is supported at the lower end by a plate 7, to which are pivotally connected the upper ends of legs 8, 8'. Inside the body a fixed underframe 9 is secured to the plate 7 and through this underframe penetrates the lower end of an arbor 12 which then extends upward through the centers of a swingable underframe 10 and a support 11 as now to be described. The swingable underframe I0 is fixed, above the fixed underframe 9, to the swingable torso 1. The support 11 is fixed to the upper part of the swingable underframe 10. To the upper part of the arbor 4 12 is mounted above the support 11 a gear 13 which is partly cut away and toothless at 13. Also, below the fixed underframe 9, a gear 14 and a worm gear 15 are mounted to the arbor 12. On the support 11 rides a pinion 16 which meshes with the cut-away gear 13 at certain time intervals. A spindle 17, to the top of which the pinion 16 is secured, extends through the swingable underframe 10 and the fixed underframe 9. To the portion of the spindle 17 between the support 11 and the swingable underframe there are mounted a spring 18, a spring support 19 and a pair of upper and lower gears 20, 21. A pinion 22 secured to the end of the same spindle is loosely fitted in a through hole 23 formed in the fixed underframe 9.

The upper gear 20 and the lower gear 21 are of the same diameter, but differ slightly in the number of teeth, and are both in mesh with a tall gear 24. The lower gear is loosely fitted to the spindle 17, and a push-up projection 24' fits in an arcuate slot 25 formed in the upper gear 20. The two gears are, therefore, in such a relationship that while they are being driven together by the tall gear 24, the difference in the number of teeth causes the push-up projection 24 to move out of the arcuate slot 25 at predetermined intervals so as to push-up the upper gear 20, which in turn enables the spring support 19 to compress the spring 18, thereby raising the up permost pinion 16 mounted on the spindle l7 and the lowermost pinion 22. The latter pinion 22 is in mesh with the gear 14 as long as the upper and lower gears 20, 21 are in engage ment, but, when raised in this way, it is disengaged from the gear 14.

The tall gear 24 is fitted to a spindle 26 between the support 11 and the swingable underframe l0, and a gear 27 mounted on the lower end of the spindle 26 is in mesh with a driving pinion 30 directly connected to the shaft 29 of a motor 28 which is also mounted between the support 11 and the swingable underframe l0. Numeral 31 represents an actuating gear supported by a spindle 31' on one side of the swingable underframe 10, and an off-center point of this gear is linked with one end of the fixed underframe 9 in a joint-like manner by an actuating rod 32. Numeral 33 indicates a breast frame pivotally connected to one end of the support 11 with a connecting rod 34, accommodating at the front thereof gun barrels 35, miniature bulbs 36, sound-making means (not shown) and the like, and which is formed with long vertical slots 37 on both sides. This breast frame 33 is connected to the cut-away gear 13 by means of a connecting rod 38.

Each of the arm joints below the left and right shoulders of the swingable torso 1 has an inwardly formed hemispherical hollow 39, in which is fitted a hemispherical member 41 attached to the root of each arm 40, and the hemispherical member 39 and the hemispherical hollow 39 are connected together by a crank shaft 42 extended through a hole formed in the hollow body, the front end of the crank shaft 42 being fitted in one of the vertical slots 37 of the breast frame 33. A spring 43 serves to keep the lid 3 at the front of the swingable torso I normally closed. The worm gear 15 secured to the lower end of the arbor 12 is in mesh with another worm gear 45 which is fixed to the center of a crank shaft 44 coupled to the upper parts of the legs 8, 8. This latter gear is perpendicular to the gear 15.

The miniature bulbs 36, sound-making means (not shown), a switch (provided at the back of the swingable torso 1 but not shown), and the like are electrically connected to the motor 28.

With the construction above described, the robot operates in the following manner. As a switch (not shown) is turned on, the driving pinion 30 on the shaft of the motor 28 drives the gear 27 and the tall gear 24, which in turn cause rotation of the pair of upper and lower gears 20, 21 and also the arbor 12 via the gears 22, 14, so that the special contours of the upper and lower gears 20, 21 enable the legs 8, 8' initially to move ahead one another. As long as the vertical pair of gears 20, 21 are in engagement, the robot goes on advancing, but at the moment when the gears 20, 21 are disengaged by the push-up projection 24 or when the upper gear 20 is urged upward, the robot stops walking. While the legs 8, 8 are kept still, the breast frame 33 is urged forward by the connecting rod 38 and, at the same time, the both arms 40 are raised backward, the breast lid 3 is opened, the miniature bulbs 36 are lighted, and the sound-making means is actuated, and then the gun barrels 35 are thrusted forward with bangs. The actions up to this point are generally known except that the robot raises its arms backward.

The functions of the essential mechanism-according to this invention will now be explained. First, the pinion 22 attached to the lower end of the spindle 17 to which the upper and lower gears 20, 21 are secured rises, as the spindle ascends while rotating, until it causes rotation of the actuating gear 31. In the movement constructed in the manner described, the constant length of the actuating rod 32 permits the swingable torso 5 to swing left and right within the angular limits shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. This sidewise swing is made of course while the robot is in action, raising the both arms 40, opening the breast lid 3, emitting light and sound, and thrusting the gun barrels 35 forward. Because the fixed underframe 9 is fixedly mounted on the support 7 for the swingable torso l and remains still with the legs 8, 8 and also because the actuating rod 32 is connected at one end to the matching end of the fixed underframe 9, the swing motion above described is repeated a number of times. This repeated motion will be fully understood from the fact that the actuating gear is secured to a spindle 31 eccentrically on one .side of the swingable underframe l0 and that the actuating rod 32 while in motion contacts the arbor 12.

Thus, regardless of the circular turning of the actuating gear 31 only in the direction indicated by an arrow, the swingable torso 1 repeats the swing motion left and right but does not turn round. At the moment when the upper and lower gears 20, 21 are reengaged, the robot returns to the initial posture starting the walk.

As described above, this invention enables a toy robot to repeat the sidewise swing of the torso, which has never'been possible with conventional robots.

Further, because the both arms 40 arefreely jointed at the roots to the torso with the semispherical members and the mating semisphcrical hollow parts of the torso and because the crank shafts extended through the free joints or through slots formed in the semispherical hollows are coupled to the drives, they can be raised with an appropriate angle of inclination with respect to each other thanks to the relative positions of the slots and the crank shafts. This is coupled with the swing motion of the torso to stimulate the interest of infants.

Thus, with the above-described structure, the motor 28 together with the pinion 30, the gear 27, and the tall gear 24 form a drive means which is common to all of the various transmissions. The structure includes a plurality of transmission means for transmitting the drive to various parts of the toy robot, and the structure includes a means-for cyclically transmitting the drive from the drive means to the various transmission means. Thus, the worm gears and 45 together with the crank shaft 44 form one transmission means for transmitting the drive to the legs 8. The gear 13 together with the connecting rod 38 form a transmission means for transmitting the drive to the swingable breast frame 33 which on the one hand through the connecting rod 34 controls the lid 3 and which on the other hand through the slot 37 and crank shaft 42 controls the arms 40. Also, the gear 31 together with the connecting rod 32 forms a transmission means for transmitting the drive to the torso so as to swing it first to one side and then to the other side. The means for cyclically connecting the drive means to these various transmission meansincludes the pair of gears and 21 together with the push projection 24. As long as the gears 20 and 21 engage each other, the gear 22 at the bottom of the shaft 17 will transmit the drive from the drive means to the legs v8 through the transmission means 14, 15, 45, 44. However, when the push projection 24 displaces the upper gear 20 upwardly away from the lower gear 21, the gear 22 is displaced out of mesh with the gear 14 and into mesh with the gear 31 so as to transmit the drive to the transmission means which swings the torso from one side to the other. At the same time the upward movement of the shaft 17 results in displacement of the gear 16 into mesh with the gear 13, so that simultaneously with the swinging of the torso from side to side the transmission means to the breast plate 33 is actuated, thus resulting in swinging out of the breast plate 33, swinging out of the lid 3, and movement of the arms 40. When the means for transmitting the drive from the drive means to the pair of transmission means respectively connected to the breast plate 33 and the swingable torso returns to the position shown in FIG. 10, the transmission of the drive to the latter pair of transmission means terminates and the transmission of the drive to the transmission means operatively connected to the pair of legs is resumed, so that in this way the structure as shown in FIG. 10 forms a means for cyclically connecting the drive means to the several transmission means referred to above.

What is claimed is:

1. 1n a toy robot, a frame, a pair of legs swingably connected to said frame for swinging movement about a substantially horizontal axis, a torso swingably connected to said frame for swinging movement about a substantially vertical axis, drive means carried by said frame, a pair of transmission means respectively connected to said legs and torso for transmitting a drive thereto from said drive means so as to swing said legs about said horizontal axis and so as to swing said torso about said substantially vertical axis, and means operatively c0nnected to said drive means and to said pair of transmission means for cyclically transmitting a drive from said drive means first to the transmission means operatively connected with said legs and then to the transmission means operatively connected with said torso so that said torso remains stationary while said legs are driven and said legs remain stationary while said torso is driven.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a breast plate is hingedly connected to said torso for swinging movement with respect thereto between a. retracted inactive position and an extended operative position, said breast plate carrying weapon-simulating structure which appears operative when said breast plate is swung to said active, operative position thereof, third transmission means operatively connected to said breast plate for swinging the latter between its retracted and extended positions, and said means for cyclically transmitting the drive from said drive means to said pair of transmission means being operatively connected also with said third transmission means for operating the latter simultaneously with operation of the transmission means which is operatively connected to said torso.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said torso carries a pair of swingable arms, and means connecting said arms operatively to said breast plate for swinging said arms in response to swinging of said breast plate.

4. The combination of claim 2 and wherein a lid which covers said breast plate when the latter is in its retracted position is operatively connected with said breast plate to be swung to .an open position in response to swinging of said breast plate through said third transmission means from said retracted to said extended position.

5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said means for cyclically transmitting the drive from said drive means to said pair of transmission means includes a pair of gears simultaneously driven by said drive means and having different numbers of teeth, said gears being supported for axial movement toward and away from each other, one of said gears carrying a push member for engaging the other of said gears for pushing the latter axially away from said one gear while said other gear cyclically returns back to said one gear, and a shaft fixed to said other gear and carrying a pinion which transmits the drive to the transmission means operatively connected to said legs when said gears engage each other and which transmits the drive to the transmission means operatively connected to said torso when said push member displaces said gears apart from each other.

6. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said means for cyclically transmitting the drive from said drive means first to the transmission means operatively connected to said legs and then to the transmission means operatively connected to said torso and breast plate includes a pair of gears having different numbers of teeth and simultaneously driven by said drive means, said gears being supported for axial movement toward and away from each other, one of said gears carrying a push member for cyclically pushing the other of said gears away from said one gear permitting said other gear to return periodically to said one gear, and a shaft fixed to said other gear and carrying one pinion which transmits the drive to said transmission means operatively connected with said legs when said gears engage each other and to the transmission means operatively connected to said torso when said gears are pushed apart from each other, said shaft carrying a second pinion which transmits the drive to the transmission means operatively connected with said breast plate when said gears are pushed apart from each other. 

1. In a toy robot, a frame, a pair of legs swingably connected to said frame for swinging movement about a substantially horizontal axis, a torso swingably connected to said frame for swinging movement about a substantially vertical axis, drive means carried by said frame, a pair of transmission means respectively connected to said legs and torso for transmitting a drive thereto from said drive means so as to swing said legs about said horizontal axis and so as to swing said torso about said substantially vertical axis, and means operatively connected to said drive means and to said pair of transmission means for cyclically transmitting a drive from said drive means first to the transmission means operatively connected with said legs and then to the transmission means operatively connected with said torso so that said torso remains stationary while said legs are driven and said legs remain stationary while said torso is driven.
 2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a breast plate is hingedly connected to said torso for swinging movement with respect thereto between a retracted inactive position and an extended operative position, said breast plate carrying weapon-simulating structure which appears operative when said breast plate is swung to said active, operative position thereof, third transmissiOn means operatively connected to said breast plate for swinging the latter between its retracted and extended positions, and said means for cyclically transmitting the drive from said drive means to said pair of transmission means being operatively connected also with said third transmission means for operating the latter simultaneously with operation of the transmission means which is operatively connected to said torso.
 3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said torso carries a pair of swingable arms, and means connecting said arms operatively to said breast plate for swinging said arms in response to swinging of said breast plate.
 4. The combination of claim 2 and wherein a lid which covers said breast plate when the latter is in its retracted position is operatively connected with said breast plate to be swung to an open position in response to swinging of said breast plate through said third transmission means from said retracted to said extended position.
 5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said means for cyclically transmitting the drive from said drive means to said pair of transmission means includes a pair of gears simultaneously driven by said drive means and having different numbers of teeth, said gears being supported for axial movement toward and away from each other, one of said gears carrying a push member for engaging the other of said gears for pushing the latter axially away from said one gear while said other gear cyclically returns back to said one gear, and a shaft fixed to said other gear and carrying a pinion which transmits the drive to the transmission means operatively connected to said legs when said gears engage each other and which transmits the drive to the transmission means operatively connected to said torso when said push member displaces said gears apart from each other.
 6. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said means for cyclically transmitting the drive from said drive means first to the transmission means operatively connected to said legs and then to the transmission means operatively connected to said torso and breast plate includes a pair of gears having different numbers of teeth and simultaneously driven by said drive means, said gears being supported for axial movement toward and away from each other, one of said gears carrying a push member for cyclically pushing the other of said gears away from said one gear permitting said other gear to return periodically to said one gear, and a shaft fixed to said other gear and carrying one pinion which transmits the drive to said transmission means operatively connected with said legs when said gears engage each other and to the transmission means operatively connected to said torso when said gears are pushed apart from each other, said shaft carrying a second pinion which transmits the drive to the transmission means operatively connected with said breast plate when said gears are pushed apart from each other. 